Guest1126180

Sounds like you have an ignorant family is all. My wife used to say similar things to me about how I am a nurse and should know "certain" things. I was an ICU nurse and I would always response the same.... If you are trying to die I'll save you. Sorry I can't pull a possible diagnosis from your obscure s/s with no lab work, imagining, or tests haha

Also, they send the alternate choice letter in the mail so it will take longer to get to you.

My previous coworker was notified this morning of getting in. Dr. Hadenfeldt was busy today though. Best of luck to everyone and just remember if you are on the waitlist you still have a good chance. Usually AT LEAST a few wait listed students get in. Sometimes several more then a few. ?

I hope everyone had a good time during interviews. Just a quick FYI on how they decide who gets in. They all sit down and decide on the top 35 out of those interviewed then each individual staff member rates those top 35, 1-35. The top rated 23 will get in and the others get alternate choice letters. This is a great way to decide if you ask me. This way if you said something dumb in one rooms it won't completely ruin your chances of getting in because each staff member rates you individually and all their points are all worth an equal amount. Have a great weekend and don't stress too much ?

FYI: It looks like 50 of you are being interviewed this year.

1) It felt like interviews were roughly 25% behavioral and 75% clinical when I interviewed. 2) You will find out soon after interviews. Less then a week. It is 1k to hold your seat. Usually due by the next month. Most of that fee goes toward tuition though.

There are two CRNA program in Nebraska, I am at Bryan, and I often hear the OR staff say... You can really tell the difference between the Bryan and Clarkson students. As you can guess they do not enjoy getting Clarkson SRNAs. For example, some of Clarkson's classes don't even have an instructor in the room. They skype them in. Like where the hell is all the tuition money going if they can't even monetarily convince an instructor to be present. I hear it is a lot of self teaching. That alone has me saying NOPE?

Westminister in salt lake utah is still a MSN if you aren't convinced. I was from there and intentionally avoided this program though. Costs just as much as the average DNP program. Also, they make you move every three months, all over the western US, during your second year to get clinical experience since CRNAs are not utilized very much in Utah. I did not even apply.

Don't do it. You are going to be one of the last ones to get a masters. That sounds more nerve racking then taking out more student loans. If you were to go back and get your doctorates you will be paying a premium and have to invest so much more time then just doing it initially. I'm going to have 250k in debt when done and I am not stressed about it at all. I will have it paid off in 8 years tops. Student loans aren't as evil as the media makes them out to be. That is if you have job security and a good salary which CRNAs are guaranteed ?

Grad level classes are tricky. If you can find one in an area you struggle in or have no experience in that would be good. BUT only if you can get an A. Otherwise it will be a waste and could hurt your chances. Use ratemyprofessor to get an idea of what your getting yourself into before committing to any class. If still unsure of what class to take I'd call and ask a few of your top choice schools and ask what they want.

21 was last years class size. They will accept at least that many this year.

I'll ask the director of the program this week. It has been one for awhile though at least three years, but I would imagine it has been for longer.

I got access for uptodate from my work. You could try to use you RN college email to sign up for it for free. Just a guess though. I just downloaded headspace looks great. Thank you. It really isn't hard to self direct interviews. Most the time they will ask an open ended question that you can take off with on a topic you are comfortable with. That being said study the conditions you see most and become an expert on. Instead of knowing a little to moderate amount on a lot of conditions. After all, you want to stand out not blend in and being an expert on a handful of conditions can be great to accomplish this. Most experienced ICU nurses know a moderate amount on most conditions. If worse comes to worse and someone is really pushing you on something you are not an expert on then simply say... I do not see a lot of that where I work. That generally is not looked down upon since most ICU nurses work in specialized ICUs and therefore don't see everything.

Really I focused on studying the conditions I saw most and talked my butt off during the interviews. Aka I made the interviews self directed ?. Uptodate was helpful in studying for this. I only had to talk about something I did not want to one time. Also, reviewing the CCRN material helped the second most. I also took propranolol the day of the interviews which really helps if you have interview anxiety ?

Just in case you didn't see is was posted in last years post regarding the interviews at Bryan: "Four fifteen minute interviews occur all with current professors and CRNA clinical staff. About 10-15 minutes each and one 15 minute interview with the dean. This last one is more informational then an interview. She does still ask a couple non clinical questions. [Such as financial situation and if you have family that could help if needed]. Current SRNAs [I'll help out on Saturday interviews] are there to take you to and back from the interviews and the best advice I can give you is to ask them questions about who is interviewing you. They are happy to help and let you know about what you can expect. They don't tell you what you'll be asked specifically. More just the professors personality and what they are like and what you can most likely expect. One of the instructors likes to ask anatomy and/or neuro questions [Dr. Jones, he is a neuro-anatomist] however he didn't ask me any. Only talk about what you want to talk about and feel comfortable going into detail about and you will be fine. Another professor will ask about any low grades you have received and want an explaination of why." My favorite part of the program is the support and how they keep classes as focused on anesthesia as possible. They don't expect you to be a master of chemistry, physics, statistics, etc nor should they because after all how much of it will matter after boards? I can't imagine going into a program that has too much emphasis on these broad subject areas. Don't take this the wrong way, they do a great job of teaching you what you need to know to make you a great anesthesia provider. They just also do a great job of telling you what to not worry about. I am having a hard time thinking of anything really negative about the program. I mean everyone has complaints about little things but I feel like it is more just trying to cope and get through or someone being ornery about a certain test/question. My only complaint is I wish they did a better job of showing all the expenses coming up. Sometimes you will not have much notice of a supply requried. For example, a wireless stethoscope for peds cases. This makes things tricky if you don't have a lot in savings and are living off loans which take about a month to get more of if you run out. No big deal though just find someone further in the program and they can let you know. Problem solved. Also while I am thinking about it, I have heard some pretty sketchy things about clarkson in Omaha. If you are thinking about applying there you may want to look into their pass rates and how some of their classes are conducted.

Since schools can be picky regarding NICU experience, I would contact the schools that accept NICU experience directly and ask them what classes to take. I say this because although all schools you end up with a degree, they are different. Some place more emphasis on chemistry and/or physics vs others that would like to see a graduate patho class. I remember during my interview they asked what I would do to improve if I didn't get in and I said take a graduate chemistry course. Her response was: that would probably be a waste of time... the chemistry isn't that difficult. Haha oops ? They are going to be hard on your GPA so taking a hard class and getting a 4.0 in it would help to show you are serious at this point in your life and you could say that during interviews. Can you get your CCRN as a NICU nurse? If you can I would. It got emphasized several times during my interviews. Don't stress about loans and let them stop you from advancing your career. Think about how much money you are loosing each year by putting it off. I am having to take out a ton (probably have 250k in loans when done). Even while paying off this debt I will be better paid vs a floor nurse and after 7-10 years of paying the loans I will be very well paid. The benefits are tons better too. You are treated like a physician in regards to benefits if you get into a group practice. I'm taking medicaid... pay nothing and not even starting on 401k benefits. Some will just put 20k a year in a 401k without any employee contribution? Worse comes to worse go to any ICU for a year and then apply to as many programs as you can.

So you have 1.5 total years of ICU experience or more due to the added travel nursing ICU jobs? I ask because schools can be sooo picky about having two years experience by the time you interview. Ya one year experience and you can apply but I had 1.5 years experience during interviews and got pounded about it during almost very interview. If this is the case I would apply to a few more. I applied to five, got interviews for three, and got into one.

Hey, current student here. Ran into this thread and wanted to offer any help if possible :)